Parliament Adjourned for 4th Straight Day Amid NEET Row, Opposition Seeks Pradhan’s Resignation

New Delhi, Jul 23: Parliament proceedings were stalled for the fourth consecutive day on Thursday as loud protests by an unrelenting opposition over the NEET paper leak and demand for Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation reverberated in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, leading to adjournment of the two Houses for the day without transacting any business. Outside the House, opposition and ruling party MPs staged protests and counter-protests and raised slogans against each other, signalling that the turmoil may not easily ease. Amid the ruckus, Leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. TMC leaders Saugata Roy and Mahua Moitra were also present in the meeting. During Question Hour, Birla had asked opposition leaders to meet him to decide on the duration and date of the discussion on the NEET paper leak issue. When the House was adjourned for the day, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also had a one-on-one meeting with Birla. There was no official word on what transpired in the two separate meetings held at Birla’s office. When the Lok Sabha met at 11 am, opposition members rushed to the Well protesting over the NEET paper leak issue and the police action on student protesters. The speaker urged members to let the Question Hour function, describing it as an important part of the day’s business. He said the government was ready to hold discussions on every issue raised by the opposition after the Question Hour and assured members that he would facilitate the discussions. “The Question Hour is the most important. After the Question Hour, the House is ready to discuss every issue. I will speak to the government, and the government is also ready for discussions. I appeal to all members to participate in the discussion after the Question Hour,” Birla said. However, the Opposition members ignored the appeal and trooped into the Well of the House, raising slogans. With the protests continuing, Birla adjourned the proceedings till 12 noon, barely three minutes after the House met. When the House reconvened, the opposition protests continued, leading to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju accusing the opposition of attaching pre-conditions and trying to run away from a debate on the paper leak issue. As the Opposition insisted on the resignation of Pradhan, Rijiju told the members that during the proposed discussion, the government would also like to put across its point of view on the paper leak issue. He said Opposition members can speak for as long as they want and the discussion can take place even for two days. Further, Rijiju said the date and duration of the discussion in both the Houses can be decided by the opposition. According to him, the government has approached the Congress and other opposition parties on having the debate. Amid the pandemonium, the proceedings were adjourned till 2 pm. After the House met again, the protests by the opposition continued. Dilip Saikia, who was in the chair, urged the protesting members to maintain the decorum of the House and said that disrupting the proceedings was not correct. He urged the protesting members to go back to their seats and said that it was not right to disrupt the proceedings. With the loud protests continuing, the chair adjourned the house for the day. Similar scenes were witnessed in Rajya Sabha where opposition continued to insist on Pradhan’s resignation before starting a discussion on the paper leak issue. Rijiju said the government was ready for a discussion on NEET on Thursday itself and the opposition should not put any condition for holding the debate. However, leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said Pradhan has to resign first before any discussion on the issue can take place. As both sides continued sloganeering, Chairman CP Radhakrishnan adjourned the House till 12 noon. When the House reassembled at 12 noon, Kharge demanded a statement from the government on Pradhan’s resignation. He said many students are in hospital due to police lathicharge and that their parents are extremely disturbed. He said the opposition is ready for a discussion, provided Pradhan resigns first. Responding to Kharge, Leader of the House JP Nadda said the opposition’s behaviour was highly irresponsible. “They neither want any discussion nor let the House function. First, they told us to discuss the paper leak, and the government said we would discuss NEET and all other issues,” Nadda said, as the Chairman adjourned the House till 2 pm. As the House met for another time, opposition MPs, including Kharge, were on their feet, raising their demand for Pradhan’s resignation. Deputy Chairman Harivansh said, “Today is the fourth day we should at least debate on the bill… Let the House function…” As opposition MPs continued to be on their feet, he said, “You don’t want to allow the House to function”, and adjourned the House till 3 pm. As soon as the Upper House re-assembled at 3 pm, the chair allowed Kharge to speak. Kharge began reading poetic remarks from a written text, claiming that the opposition would take on any challenge in the interest of the nation. Harivansh, who was in the chair, did not allow Kharge to speak further, saying he allowed the LoP to speak only to break the deadlock and start the discussion on the NEET paper leak issue. As the protests continued the House was adjourned for the day.